Grand Forks youth group home after battling nationwide flight cancellations
Jul. 26—GRAND FORKS — Members of a youth group from Grand Forks' Calvary Lutheran Church completed their long trek home from New Orleans on Wednesday after nationwide flight cancellations by Delta Air Lines left the group stranded.
Pastor Andrew Bye said the youth group arrived home around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday after a two-day road trip.
The group was set to return home from the ECLA Youth Gathering on Monday evening before their flight was delayed and ultimately canceled alongside thousands of others as carrier Delta Air Lines reels from a global tech outage.
The timing of the cancellations meant many of the youth groups who came to New Orleans for the gathering, which happens every three years, abruptly found themselves seeking new travel options.
"There were a lot of folks scrambling to try and get home," Bye said.
He credited Delta's agents for their help as well as the adults on and off the trip who worked to find another travel option.
The youth group ended up renting six minivans for the 28 young people and six adults.
"We had to switch into problem-solving mode because we knew switching flights for 34 people was going to be a mountain," youth ministry coordinator Morgan Olson said.
The group set off on their cross-country trek Tuesday afternoon, stopping over in Branson, Missouri, on their way north.
"It wasn't the way we expected to go home, but all our kids got to spend a few more days together and grow that bond," Bye said. "It was one of the easiest 20-hour car rides I've been on."
